Tune du Jour: “All the Young Dudes” – Mott the Hoople
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Robyn Hitchcock vs. Billy Bragg & Jill Sobule vs. Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
VOTE, COMMENT, then DO SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF
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David Bowie wanted to help out his buddy, Ian Hunter and his band Mott the Hoople, so he wrote “Suffragette City” for them to use. Ian said ‘thanks, but I’m looking for something better’. As the story goes, Bowie sat in the middle of his living room floor, cross-legged, all night, and by morning he had completed “All the Young Dudes”.
This rock ‘n’ roll anthem consistently finds its way onto critic’s lists for best rock songs of all time.
The Original
Mott the Hoople:
And The Guy Who Wrote It
Bowie waited two years before he played it live:
And this is from the Freddie Mercury Tribute Aids Awareness Concert. It features an all-star cast of Bowie, Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson and Queen. This classic clip also includes Bowie’s “Heroes” and ends with a touching tribute from Bowie to Freddie and all others with Aids:
I have never been a fan of Queen but my son, Sayed, insisted that I watch the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody”. He said I would enjoy it regardless. Man was he right! It is an excellent film. And I never thought I would say this but I just might be a fan of Queen now …
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Well … after those clips these bands have their work cut out for them with their covers. But I think you’ll find that they all acquit themselves quite well.
Robyn Hitchcock vs. Billy Bragg & Jill Sobule vs. Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
Robyn Hitchcock:
This was an encore performance at a show in 2011 at the Three Kings pub in London, a show in which Robyn and company played the entire Beatles’ album “Revolver”. Yeah, what would you have given to be at that show!
Billy Bragg & Jill Sobule:
Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs:
SPACE
Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On!??!
Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
cover me impressed 
Thought I was gonna vote Hitchcock after watching the video. And, yes, I would have loved to have been there. When’s the last time you saw eleven musicians crammed into such a small space?
Much better sound on the Billy Bragg version gets the vote. I’ve seen Jill Sobule’s name in print here and there over the years, but don’t know anything about her.
It’s hard for any serious musician to mess this song up. So perfectly constructed, it has to be just a blast to cover.
Many years ago I downloaded Robyn’s version of this song from this show as an mp3 from some illegal site. At the time I thought I was pretty damn cool for possessing it. But, alas, the clip found its way onto YouTube, thereby, wrecking my exclusivity. However, at the time I also downloaded about 50 other live covers by Hitchcock, many of which quite bizarre, and I bet that not all of them are available on YouTube. So there! In my database notes from the long ago download I wrote, “needs extensive editing”. Obviously the clip is way too long with gibberish to spare and the audio is not the greatest. But as anyone who has ever had the privilege to be at a live Hitchcock show knows, much of the sheer entertainment is in his bizarre, run-on rants about anything and everything. So despite the length, I hope that all enjoys this clip as much as I do.
Billy Bragg and Jill Sobule? There’s not much to say. Reverent, concise, pure bliss to listen to. I could probably say this about every Bragg concert ever performed but, man would I have loved to have been at this show!
As usual, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs put forth an expertly delivered cover of the original. But as with so many of their covers, my complaint is that they are too perfect and too much of a replica of the original pieces. I love their delivery and their choice of songs to cover is impeccable. Yet I have to deduct points here for lack of creativity.
Of the three, I would have most loved to be at the Robyn Hitchcock show, but my vote here has to go to the great live rendition delivered by Bragg and Sobule.
Bragg and Sobule just an outstanding duet and had to give it to them,
sweet and Hoffa did a nice job
but Bowie tribute really won the day
Talk about anthems. A great song that I’ve always loved and never get tired of hearing. I love Robyn Hitchcock, but their version was just too chaotic and messy for me. I agree with Richie that Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs’s version was just too polished. Billy Bragg wins the day here.